Overview
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has identified a significant security vulnerability, CVE-2025-2297, affecting systems running versions prior to 25.4.270.0. This vulnerability can be exploited by a local, authenticated attacker, leading to unauthorized elevation of user privileges. If exploited successfully, this vulnerability could lead to system compromise and potential data leakage, posing a significant threat to the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of sensitive data.
The severity of this issue is highlighted by its CVSS Severity Score of 7.8, which indicates a high level of risk. This vulnerability matters because it allows users with the ability to edit their user profile files to elevate their privileges to an administrator level, thereby gaining access to sensitive system resources and data.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-2297
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: User level
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise and data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
System | Prior to version 25.4.270.0
How the Exploit Works
This exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability in the user profile file handling system. An attacker with user-level privileges and the ability to edit their user profile files can inject illegitimate challenge response codes into the local user registry. These illegitimate codes can then be used to trick the system into elevating the attacker’s privileges to an administrator level. With these elevated privileges, the attacker can then compromise the system or leak sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited:
# Attacker accesses their user profile file
cd ~/profile
# Attacker edits the file to include illegitimate challenge response codes
echo "illegitimate_challenge_response_code" >> user.profile
# Attacker saves the file and triggers a system process that checks user profiles
trigger_system_check
# The system, finding the illegitimate codes, mistakenly elevates the attacker's privileges
# Attacker now has admin level accessPlease note that this is a highly simplified conceptual example and actual exploitation of this vulnerability would likely require a more complex approach. Nevertheless, it gives an idea of the potential severity of this vulnerability.
Recommended Mitigation
The most effective mitigation for this vulnerability is to apply the vendor-issued patch. This update resolves the vulnerability by correcting the user profile file handling system, preventing the injection of illegitimate challenge response codes. If the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation by detecting and blocking attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
